Rowan must play King Arthur as straight man in 'Spamalot'

Actor plans wedding, return to renaissance faires this year

Britain's King Arthur (played by Arthur Rowan), left, happily dicovers that his quest has led him to the Lady of the Lake (Abigail Raye) in the touring musical comedy "Monty Python's Spamalot." The play will be performed three times Friday and Saturday at City Bank Auditorium.

As King Arthur in the touring production of the Tony Award-winning “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” Rowan is the straight man.

As much as he loves the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” Rowan had to be reminded of his character’s status.

“At the first rehearsal,” said Rowan, “all of us came in with bits we felt would make our characters even more funny.”

The director told him to forget all of the comic nuances he’d worked so hard on.

“The instant that Arthur realizes he is in a comedy, the whole show would fall apart,” said Rowan, pointing out that Arthur truly believes he is on a quest.

“I was told be sincere, play the role honestly, but never try to be funny,” he said. “Even when the crowd is roaring with laughter, play it honestly — because each audience can tell when an actor is trying to be funny.”

When later asked about the show’s physical challenges, Rowan admitted to losing “about a pound in sweat” each night, just because of the heavy costume and hot lights.

But physically challenging?

“Are you kidding?” he asked.

“I have the least challenging role. I get to stand there and look ... kingly. I get to sing and dance, but nothing like the actors in the ensemble. Those guys are practically doing gymnastics trying to make costume changes at breakneck speed.”

Capturing King Arthur’s attitude is where his studies of the era, and years of participation in professional renaissance faires, proved helpful.

“I learned long ago that, when playing a lord, or anyone of regal or noble bearing, you simply must throw away the concept of everyone being equal,” Rowan said.

“Class structure was crucial in those days. And if I were a king, I would simply know that I am above other people. Yes, I can be a good king, but that changes nothing. I still am better than you. In fact, a lot of the comedy in ‘Spamalot’ arrives because Arthur expects to be treated like a king, and he’s not.”

Rowan was about 11 when he discovered “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” He said he probably watched it 20 times before his high school years.

But the play is not a theatrical adaptation of the film.

Far from it.

Eric Idle, a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, describes the Broadway musical as having been “lovingly ripped off from the 1975 movie.”

“So if you never have seen ‘Holy Grail,’ you still will get a huge kick out of the play,” Rowan emphasized.

On the other hand, fans of the film will notice several key scenes and characters: the French taunter, the killer rabbit, the Black Knight.

“The parts most fans remember are still there,” said Rowan. “They’ve just been tweaked slightly.”

In addition to the broad comedy, knights are involved in production numbers and catchy song-and-dance routines that spoof the Broadway experience.

In fact, Rowan said that his favorite review was one he overheard in the lobby after a show.

He quoted an older woman telling friends, “In no way did I want to see this play. I knew I would hate it. I’m only here because of you.

“But 10 minutes in, I was hooked. It was hilarious.”

Rowan discovered that laughs arrive at different times.

“Every crowd has its own personality,” he explained, pointing out that some like the song “Look on the Bright Side of Life” while others prefer seeing Arthur dancing with Patsy.

Summer will find Rowan and his fiancee, actress Kelly Morris, performing in professional renaissance faires in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. His last season with the same Pennsylvania faire, he said, found him either performing Shakespeare, competing in jousting tournaments or taking part in 30-on-30 battles with broadswords and explosions of cannon fire.

“Every stereotype about renaissance faires, both good and bad, is true,” he said, “They can be geeky fun. I get to play ‘make believe’ like when I was 6, only with way better costumes.

“But I also had lots of opportunities to write, direct and act.”

Rowan also is a fight director, and each renaissance faire allows him to sharpen his skills with “rapier & dagger, quarterstaff, broadsword, single sword, small sword, sword & shield and knife,” a peek at his resume reveals.

Today a king, tomorrow a knight.

The renaissance fair paid an additional benefit, though. It is where he met his fiancee. His public wedding proposal can be seen by typing the names Arthur Rowan and Kelly Morris together onto youtube.com.

“That, I didn’t plan,” he said. “I asked a friend to tape it. Then we put it on youtube just so our families could see it. It shot up to something like 6,000 (now 12,000) views before we knew it.”

So this “Spamalot’s” King Arthur will marry in September.

What’s more, he has created a Renaissance Musical Duo — Rowan and the Rose — that will keep them performing together.

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Python silliness

■ Attraction: Touring production of Tony Award-winning musical “Monty Python’s Spamalot.” Book by Eric Idle; music and lyrics by Idle and John Du Prez.